Dr. Nagourney's Blog

For Lung Cancer, We've Got the Answer, Now We're Waiting For the Question

As I finished a recent Thursday afternoon clinic, I received a call. The voice was familiar and I recognized it to belong to the husband of one of my former patients. The news, unfortunately, was not good. Back pain following a skiing accident...

For Advanced Cancer Patients: The Clinical Trial Dilemma

Patients confronting advanced cancer are encouraged to participate in clinical trials. Clinical trials are employed to develop...

In Advanced Breast Cancer, Sometimes the Patient Knows Best

On 10/23/2017 I had a phone conversation with a patient in Virginia. She had been diagnosed in December 2012 with estrogen...

Wisdom Imparted From A Cancer Patient To His Physician: Lessons Learned

The practice of medicine offers physicians the opportunity to meet people from many walks of life. In medical oncology, the...

Do Doctors Have Egg on Their Faces?

Few of us have escaped the medical community's admonition that eggs are a hazard to our health. Based on the cholesterol found...

Drug Resistant Acute Myeloid Leukemia Meets Its Match

Among the diseases that hematologist-oncologists regularly treat, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) can be viewed as a qualified...

In Sarcoma, Does The Absence Of Mutations Mean There Is No Cancer?

I was recently approached by the father of a young patient with recurrent sarcoma. After several surgeries and multiple courses...